David Lee with the Washington Sound record shop sign, in front of his storage trailer.

David Lee has won the North Carolina Folklore Society’s 2011 Brown-Hudson Award, awarded to “persons who have in special ways contributed to the appreciation, continuation, or study of North Carolina folk traditions.” With this prestigious honor, David joins the ranks of legendary North Carolina vernacular and traditional musicians such as Doc and Merle Watson, Etta Baker and Cora Phillips, Joe and Odell Thompson, George Higgs, Bishop Dreddy Manning, and Alice Gerrard.

“David Lee, songwriter, label owner and record store proprietor, who is at the center of a powerful regional soul, gospel and R&B scene based out of Shelby, North Carolina. From 1967 to 1997 he founded three record labels and recorded regionally based artists. While his labels focused on soul and R&B, his third label SCOP (Soul, Country, Opera, and Pop) and his support for interracial bands like the Constellations show his wide taste in music and his willingness to push the boundaries of genre and social convention.”

We are thrilled to witness Mr. Lee receive this long overdue and much deserved recognition for his career in music. Join the celebration at the NCFS’s annual meeting on April 2 at Gerrard Hall on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. David is readying a band to perform at this event!

Congratulations, Mr. Lee!